Plaiting machine



Nov. 22, 1932. 1.. E. MEDONOUGH 1,338,232

PLAITING' MACHINE v Filed Dec. 26, 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 1 J62 me .fiil yess. a

Nov. 22, 1932. L. E. MCDQNQUGH 1,888,232

PLAITING MACHINE Filed Dec. 26. 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Nov. 22, 1932. L. E. MCDONOUGH PLAITING MACHINE Filed Dec. 26, 1928 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 jzzderztor WWW Patented Nov. 22, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE). I

LAWRENCE MCDONOUGH, OFjCHIdAGO, ILLINOIS PLAITING MACHINE.

Application filed December 26, 1928. Serial No. 328,476,

" taken at line, 22, on-Figure 1, showing broken linkage connections with operating lugs, and shift bar.

Figure 3 is a vertical section through the selective control mechanisms, showing the ratchet with a reversing dog in operating position,-taken at line, 33, on Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a detail of a cam of the control mechanism, for making a reverse plaiti Figure 5 is a detail of a cam of the control mechanism for making box plaiting.

Figure 6' is an enlarged detail of the main operating members of the plaiting machine, with parts broken away and omitted, showing the cloth being undertucked to make a side plait in the usual manner.

Figure 7 is a fragmentary detail of the operating members, showing the cloth overtucked, for making a reverse side'plait.

' FigureS, 9, 10 and 11 are somewhat diagrammatic illustrations of certain'types and combinations of plaits;

The selective control mechanism comprising this invention may be used in connection with plaiting machines of the type which have three main operating functions, viz., opening and closing of the cloth-gripping members; reciprocation of the cloth-gripping members during opening and closing movement thereof; and rocking movement of the cloth gripping members about a horizontal axis for reversing the plaiting efiect. The

machine proper, is provided with a pair of cast frames or end pedestals, 10, for. supporting the entire mechanism. main operat ing shaft, 11, extends longitudinally of the machine, having suitable drive connections to a motor f (not shown)..j The shaft may be provided with a clutch and hand wheel (not shown) forthe usual purpose of securing proper adjustment of the cloth and of the various operating elements, in setting the machine, preparatory to its operation."

Referring now in general to the opening and closing mechanism for the cloth gripping members, a master cam, 13, ismounted at'the'end ofthe shaft, 11, havingengagement with aroller, 14, carried on the end of a;

short lever arm, 15, of a bell crank, 16', which is fulcrumed at 17, in' the frame, 10. Along lever arm, 18, of the bell crank, 16, is aXiallyspac'ed inwardly of the arm, 15, and en gages the lower end of a pusher bar, 19, for raising or lowering the same through a limited distance. Said pusher, when not ,ac

tuatedby arm, 15, is slidably supported by Q I the frame, 10, as shown in Fig; 6.v

'The pusher bar is provided withaflat guide surface, 20, at. the upper end engaging a roller, 21, of the pivot curved link, 22, which is rigidly'connected to themovable frame, 23,'s0' thatas the pusher bar is forced upwardly by the lever arm,-18,*'the said curved link, 22, is shifted upwardly. Said frame, 23, which is pivoted at 24 to a reciprocating frame, 25, carries the upper clothgripping member, 26. A lower. cloth-gripping member, 27, moves with the member, 26, being secured to a supporting frame member, 28, which is also connected to the reciprocating frame, 25, so asto reciprocate, both gripping members as a unit. The grip-1 ping members, 26 and. 27', when closed, taper toward each'othe'r so that only the tips thereof actually grip the cloth indicated atf29. It will be apparent that as the curved link, 22, is forced upwardly, the frame, 23, carrying the gripping member, 26, will be moved upwardly about the pivot, 24, into open position;

i The cam, 13, has two sectors of different diameters, so that as it revolves the larger sec tor of the cam surface engages the'roller, 14, and swings the lever arm, 15, about its pivot, 17, thus lifting the pusher bar, 19, and roller, 21, to holdgrip-per frame, 28, up for a definite period, toreleasethe'hold of the grippers on the cloth. Then when the smaller sector of cam, 13, engages the roller, 14, the pusher, 19, will drop and permit gripping of the cloth by grippers, 26 and 27. The opening movement of the member, 26, is positive, and for the closing motion a tension spring, 30, is connected at one end to a bracket, 31, secured to the supporting frame, 28, while the other end of the spring is attached to the lower end in guides formed in the end frames, 10. The.

trunnions, 35, also are concentric with the pivot connection of a rocker, 36, which is fulcrumed at 37, in an adjustable sliding bearing, 38, carried by an auxiliary bracket, 39,

pivoted at 40, to the end frame, 10. The lower end of the pitman, is guided in an eccentric groove, 41, formed in the inner surface of cam, 13, so that as the cam is rotated, the rocker is oscillated about its fulcrum, 37, thereby transmitting reciprocating motion to the cloth-gripping members and their frames, through the connections of the pitman to the trunnion, 35. As may be seen in Figure 1, the free end of the bracket, 39, is slotted and provided with a lock screw, 42, for adjustment vertically about pivot, 40,

so as to raise or lower the fulcrum, 37, there-' by increasing or decreasing the lever arm from said fulcrum to the trunnion, 35.

This adjustment permits variation in length of stroke or amount of reciprocation of the gripping members,which of course will govern the amount of material being fed throughthe machine, and determine the size of plaits. It will also be apparent that the opening and closing of the gripping memhers is synchronized with the reciprocating movement, and it is to be understood that as soon as the gripping members start on the back stroke, the upper gripping member, 26, is opened by the cam action hereinbefore described, and at the end of the stroke said gripping member is again closed so as to grip the cloth, 29, and feed it forwardly in either an overtuck or undertuck manner to form a plait, as will hereinafter be described.

The cloth, 29, is fed over suitable guide rollers of the'machine, through the gripping members, which. through the assistance of a pair of converging or funnel-shaped guide plates, 44, secured to the end frames, 10, direct the same in either undertucked or overtucked foldings or plaits, to a pair of horizontal pressing rollers, 45 and 46. As shown in' Figures 6 and 7 one of the rollers, pref-. erably the lower, is provided with a pipe, 47,

for supplying steam thereto for pressing the plaits in the cloth as it passes between these rollers. These rollers are geared together and driven in a usual manner in synchronism with the reciprocation of the gripping members, by pawl and ratchet connections to the trunnion, 35, at the upper end of the rocker, 36, so that the plaited cloth is passed through the pressing rollers in timed relation to the plait formation. Rolls of light weight paper, 48 and 49, are mounted in a suitable manner at the top and bottom of the machine; this paper is directed over guides so as to contact with opposite surfaces of the cloth and be fed therewith through'the machine. It will be understood by those familiar with the art that the paper coverings on each side of the cloth assist the creasing of the cloth in the formation of plaits and also tend to maintain the plaits therein, as well as serving as a protection therefor during the entire plaiting operation and; subsequent handling.

Referring now tothe mechanism for directing the cloth gripping members, 26 and 27, so as to form plaits, it may be understood that with the mechanism thus far described the gripping members may be permanently positioned eitherabove or below the center line of feed for overtucking or undertucking, which would permit the making of a single type side (sometimes termed knife) plait, as illustrated in Figure 8. It is desirable at times to reverse the direction of plait-ing for purposes of design and beauty; and this reversal if constantly alternated at each stroke will also effect a box type plait as shown in Figure 9.

Heretofore, plaiting machines were provided with linkage and ratchet mechanism for reversing the plaiting operation, but this required alteration and substitution of ratchet wheels or other parts to obtain reverse plaiting, box plait-ing, or for making a combination plait. The mechanism now to be described, permits the making of the usual side plait, reverse side plait, box plait, or several specific combinations of either side plaits or box plaits by merely shifting a levcr. This mechanism includes a pitman, 55, pivoted at one end to the cam, 13, the other end being connected to a short lever arm, 56,of a bell crank, 57 which is pivoted at 58in a frame, 59. The other lever arm, 60, of the bell crank, 57, carries the pivot end of a pair of ratchet escapement pawls, 61 and 62, yieldingly held in operative engagement with a ratchet wheel, 63, by a spring, 64. It will be understood that each rotation of the cam, 13, will thus cause a partial rotation of the ratchet, depending on the design of the escapement movement. Said ratchet is keyed on a stub shaft, 65, journaled in the frame, 59, which is mounted on an angle iron support, 66, secured to the inner side of an end frame, 10. i

' 'Dogsror teeth,167, may be detachablyse cured to the outer face of the'ratchet,-.in certain 'spac'edfrelation for obtaining any. suitable combination of. side .plait, :reverse side plait and box" plait. Coaxial with the ratchet and. keyed to said stub shaft are cams, 68 and 69 for standard reverse side plaiting and .box plaiting, respectively. Eachxof these cams iseprovided with teeth, 70,.in1cer;

= tain spaced relation to a definite number of teeth of'the ratchet wheel,63.

Three pivotally. movable lugs, 71, are loosely mounted'on a short shaft,72, which is carried by the frame,59. These. lugsare aligned with the teeth: of the cams, 67,68 and 69, and are each provided with rollers, 73, for contact therewithwhen inoper'ation. A. pivotally movableframe, 74, surrounds the rear portion of the lugs, and is keyed totheshaft, 72.. A sliding shift bar, 75, is mounted in said frame, having'a tapered boss, 76, adapted to be ,shifted therewith forselective contact with one of the lugs, 71, forcing the lat ter forwardly so that its rollercan engage the teeth of its respective cam. These lugs are yieldingly held-toward the s'hiftbar in the path ofthe boss, 7 6,-by tension springs, 77, secured to said lugs and connected to the base of the frame, 59: A crankarm, 78, is keyed to the end of the shaft, 72, and isconnected to a link,'79'-, the other'end of which is pivcited to the end of a'vertical guide bar, 80, which isfulcrumed at pivot, 17, on the frame, 10. A verticalslot, 81, is provided in said 35 banadjacent the upper end.. A bolt, 82,

through thisslot, transmits the movement of the bar, 80, to the plate, v83,-which may be swung forwardly or rearwardly with the guide bar, 80, about its pivotal connection, 84, to the frame, 10. i V

The outer end of this plate carries a roller, 85, adapted to engage either of a pair of'vertically spaced controlling arms, 90, which are pivoted at 9l' to the gripping member frame, 25. .Thesearms, 90, serve as lever arms for tilting thegripping members, 26 and '27, upwardly or downwardly as a unit about the pivot, 35, for overtucking'or undertuckingthe c-lothto form plaits; A spring, 92, is connected to the endsof said arms and tends to hold them in position and permit the same to yieldingly engage the roller, 85. A'tension spring, 93, connects the upper end of the guide bar, 80, with a bracket, 94, on the frame, 10, thereby yieldingly holding said bar normally in a forward position. As illustrated in Figure 6, when the plate, 83, is in this forward position the'roller, 85, impinges against the upper arm, 90, forcing it upwardly, and due to the connection of the arm td the frame, 25', naturally forces the forward ends of the gripping members, 26 and 27, downwardlyabout pivot, 35. It will now be seen that spring, 93,through'the co operatin-g arm, 80, and link, 79,?h0lds the frame, 74,

with. the lugs, .71, yieldingly Pin-position so that when the boss,=:7 6, engagesione of said lugs,:it will force its'roller into contact with the teeth of: the respective cam. Further,

as the ratchet rotates, :and azcam 1tooth engages the roller, 7 3, of said lug, it will force it 1' rearwardly therebypulling'link, 79, forward and moving arm, 80, backward about pivot, 17. This movement swings the plate,

83, downwardly, and causes its'-. roller,a85,=to

impinge against the lower arm, '90, thereby moving'the. forward end of'the gripp ngimembers upwardly'about.the pivot, 35; V

r This upward movement of the gripping I members may be thought of" as providing reverse side plaiting, merely'becausq'nor mally the gripping membersare yieldingly held downward to makestandard side plaits without operating the: trip cams or linkage connections. However, it will be-cl'ear" that reverse plaiting can be a continuous operation if'so desired-, by the use of the c'am,68, shown in Figure: 4, having as many teeth, 70,v as

there are'te'eth-in 'theratchet, or rather, corresponding. to the number 'of escapement movements to rotate the'ratchet one. complete revolution. "Further, it will :be understood that, if a cam tooth'were-omitted from said cam,nthe lug,7 1, with. its roller will move forwardly to fill the gap, permitting the slide bar to follow and permit the iink,-.79, and arm, 80, tobereturned to normal position by the tension spring, 93, which of course permits astandard side plait;:to be -formed-as originally ornormally;

If every other tooth'w'ereomittedfromthe cam,it is clear that there'wouldrbealternately folded side plaits, the combinations of ion which is known as a box plait. The-box'plait movement isrobtained by the cam, 69, shown in Figure 5,- which moves thegripping members up'and down alternixtely-as-theyare reciprocated'." Frequentlyit is desirable to make certain combination 1 box and side plaits :such as shown ln Figu'renll, or numerousother combinations of these plaits; forthispurpose the detachable teeth, '67-, on the faceof the 'ratchet'may be spaced'to'suit.

Ofcou'rse it-willbe understood that thesexde tachable teeth could be secured to any face plate, butfor convenience',-the-'face .of the ratchet is employed. If camv teeth-were provided on the ratchet,'- one for each ratchet movement, the eifectwould be a reverse plaiting movement, the same asobtained by the cam, 68. The" spacing ofthecam teeth-or dogs, 67, must'be predetermined so that the a crank arm,98, fixed to a stub shaft, 99,'to which is also rigidly secured a shift lever, 100. The lever and crank arm are supported by a bracket, 101, secured to one side of an end frame, 10. This bracket also provides bearing for the pin, 99, and servesas an indicating dial, having the letters,C B It and p S arranged concentrically with respect to said pin. Diametrically opposite each of the letters is an aperture, 102, for engagement by a spring detent pin, 103, of the hand lever, 100, for locking the same in position. An index pointer, 104,'is formed on the pivot end of the lever to be aligned with one of the letters. The letters correspond to the various positions of engagement of the boss, 76, with the lug, 71, for operating movements. The letter C indicates the position when the shaft bar is at extreme position with the boss, 76, engaging the outer lug, 71, for making combination plaits. The letter B indicates a position for box plait, while B gives the position for reverse plaits, and the letter S indicates a position at which the boss, 75, is out of engagement with all the lugs, 71, as seenin Figure 2,- and corresponding to the normal side-plaiting movement.

The shift lever maybe arranged adjacent the other controls of the machine for convenience of the operator. that the shifting of the lever, 100, affords selective plaiting movements, that may be varied to suit, andof course it will be understood that any number of variations and combinations of plaits may be had by merely shifting the lever to proper position, and providing the proper cams as an in-built feature of the machine.

I claim 1. In a plaiting machine, mechanism for forming side plaits, reverse plaits, box plaits or combinations thereof, and selective means operable at will for instantaneously setting the mechanism to' form any one of said types of plaits, said machine adapted to normally form side plaits independently of the selective operative means; and said selective means including separate operating cams for reverse plaits, box plaits, and combination plaits.

2. In a plaiting machine adapted'to form side plaits, reverse plaits, box plaits and combinations thereof, having reciprocating cloth gripping members, and means selectively adjustable at will for instantaneously changing from one type of plait to another, said means 7 including operating cams for reverse plaits,

a 2. said camsbeing spaced axially from each 5 other, and provided with means for rotatlng It will now be clear them in timed relation to said reciprocating cloth gripping members.

4. In a plaiting machine for making side plaits, reverse plaits, box plaits and combinations thereof, reciprocating cloth gripping members, means cooperating therewith, selectively adjustable for changing from one type of plait to another instantaneously, said means including a cam for reverse plaiting, a cam for box plaiting, and a cam for combination plaiting; means for operating said cams in timed relation to said gripping members, follower means co-operating with said cams, and a shifting rod for selectively engaging the follower means with any one of said cams for effecting a desired plaiting operation, and an indicating lever positively connected to said rod for shifting it manually at will.

5. In the combination defined in claim 4, said cam for combination plaiting being of an adjustable type with movable parts for changing its contour, whereby to secure various combination of side, reverse and box plaits.

6. In a plaiting machine adapted to form side plaits, box plaits and combinations thereof, reciprocating cloth gripping members, and means selectively adjustable at will for instantaneously changing from one type of plait to another, said means including operating cams for forming box plaits and combination plaits, andfollower means for engaging said cams selectively, whereby to communicate certain movement to the reciprocating gripping members to form the desired plaits in the cloth.

7. In a plaiting machine adapted to form side plaits, box plaits and combinations thereof, reciprocating cloth gripping members, and means selectively adjustable at will for instantaneously changing from one type of plait to another, said means including operating cams for forming box plaits and combination plaits, and followermeans for engaging said cams selectively, whereby to communicate certain movement to the reciprocating gripping members to form the desired plaits in the cloth, said cam for combination plaits having an adjustable camming surface to effect a predetermined combination of plaits.

8. In a plaiting machine, mechanism for forming sideplaits, reverse plaits, box plaits or combinations thereof, separate means for controlling the mechanism for forming the respective types of plaits, and selective means operable at will for instantaneously rendering operative any one of said separate means. i 9. In a plaiting machine, mechanism for forming side plaits, reverse plaits, box plaits or combinations thereof, separate cam surfaces adapted to be engaged for forming the respective types of plaits, and means for in stantaneously substituting'one cam surface for another for plait.

10. In a plaiting machine, mechanism for forming side plaits, reverse plaits, box plaits or combinations thereof, said mechanism including separate operating cams for forming the respective types of plaits, and selective means operable at will for instantaneously setting the mechanism to form any one of said types of plaits.

LAWRENCE E. MODONOUGH.

producing a desired type of 

